A Jefferson County man is now at the center of a grim Kolbs Corner Road homicide case, accused of helping to hide and move the body of a 16-year-old girl found dead inside a mobile home in March 2022, according to a newly released probable-cause affidavit. Prosecutors say Cody Lee Arnold worked with another woman to secure a vehicle, conceal the body and fail to report the killing. When investigators entered the bedroom, they say they found the teen wrapped in a garbage bag and blanket on a bed, with a shell casing in plain view on a pillow. Arnold remains charged with murder.
What the affidavit says
As detailed by Beaumont Enterprise, the affidavit states that Arnold gave detectives verbal permission to search his residence and told investigators the victim, identified as 16-year-old Katelynn Nicole Stone of Vidor, had been living with him. According to the filing, Arnold told police he left the room and later saw Chelsea Ann-Marie Shipp point a gun at Stone and "pull the trigger." Court papers say the upper portion of Stone's body was wrapped in a black trash bag while the lower portion was covered with a blanket.
How investigators say Shipp confessed
Witness accounts included in the affidavit and reported by Fox San Antonio say Shipp told friends she "shot her" and allegedly asked others to help move the body. Investigators say Shipp swapped vehicles the night of the killing, then later returned a car looking on edge and asked a friend to cover for her whereabouts. Those conversations and subsequent tips led to calls to law enforcement that helped narrow the investigation.
Arrests and charges
The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office confirmed that Shipp was arrested at a Liberty Hill residence on March 31, 2022, and transported to the county jail, according to the agency's press release. The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office publicly thanked multiple agencies for assisting in the arrest. Local reporting by KWTX and other outlets notes that both suspects were booked on $1 million bonds.
Legal stakes
The probable-cause affidavit names Arnold as an accomplice who "intentionally, knowingly" aided an alleged murder, language that the documents say supports a first-degree murder charge. If convicted of murder, Arnold faces the prospect of life in prison, according to court documents reported by Beaumont Enterprise.
Next steps
The Jefferson County District Attorney's Office provided the affidavit to media outlets as the case moves through the local court system, and prosecutors and investigators have not offered additional public comment. Oxygen reports that the investigation remains active and court proceedings are still pending.
